Washington Ready For DC Job

Mark Washington, winner of the Tom Pate Award in 2006, has spent the past six seasons as defensive backs coach with the B.C. Lions

The name of Mark Washington immediately springs to mind, if Lions head coach Mike Benevides decides his new defensive coordinator is seated just down the hallway at the CFL team’s Surrey offices.

Promoting Washington might be not only convenient, it would be prudent, given his six seasons as coach of the team’s defensive backs.

The man who was interviewed for the vacant Montreal Alouettes’ head coaching job at the end of last season has more than paid his dues. It may be time.

After his third go-round with the Lions, Stubler is leaving to pursue other opportunities, most likely in Winnipeg as the DC under new head coach Mike O’Shea. O’Shea, formerly the Toronto Argonauts special teams coach, has a history with Stubler. The latter was with the Argos from 2003-2007 before being promoted to head coach in 2008. Stubler was fired 10 games into that season after going 4-6.

The resignation of the 64-year-old Stubler follows a “mutual” parting of the ways with Lions offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine in November. Benevides met with Chapdelaine after the Lions’ season-ending elimination by the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Nov. 10, though the announcement was not made official until two weeks later.

“I am grateful for Rich’s contributions to our organization and on behalf of our club. I wish him the very best in the future,” Benevides said in a news release.

Stubler rejoined the Lions in 2012 after spending the previous season with the Edmonton Eskimos.

He was also with the Lions in 2010 as defensive line coach and was the team’s defensive coordinator in 2000, when B.C. won its fourth Grey Cup.

Stubler was described as a “great fit” by Benevides when he rejoined the Lions in 2012 and he is regarded as one of the great defensive strategists in the CFL game.

B.C. gave up the fewest yards against the pass and the second fewest against the rush (behind Montreal) in the 2013 CFL season.

But the Lions were soft against the run in the fourth quarter of their 29-25 semi-final loss to the Roughriders, when the failure to contain quarterback Darian Durant cost them a chance to advance.